


The Crew Builds a Queer Nation

by SigilsMistakes



Category: Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Anarchy, Christine Chapel is a doctor, Communism, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, Homophobia Implied, M/M, Nation Building, Queer Nationalism, Queer Themes, Solarpunk, The Federation and Star Fleet are now replaced with the “Imperial order and Imperial fleet.”, Trans James T. Kirk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2019-12-03
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:20:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21645133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SigilsMistakes/pseuds/SigilsMistakes
Summary: "Queer nationalism is a phenomenon related both to the gay and lesbian liberation movement and nationalism. Adherents of this movement support the notion that the LGBT community forms a distinct people due to their unique culture and customs."The crew of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701 take it upon themselves to build the gay homeland.
Relationships: Christine Chapel/Nyota Uhura, James T. Kirk/Spock, Pavel Chekov/Hikaru Sulu
Comments: 1
Kudos: 26





	The Crew Builds a Queer Nation

**Author's Note:**

> Explanation for this concept in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFXMaNQcAQQ

Lt. Nyota Uhura and Dr. Christine Chapel feel the weight of all their collective anxieties peel off their shoulders, the closer their ship sails to the glowing shore. They interlock their hands, and they can feel their excited pulses thrumming in sync. 

Christine feels Nyota tremble, and she turns to see the tears in her eyes. She holds her love to her chest to comfort her. With how emotional her own repatriation felt, she could only imagine the storm within her partner. Nyota was from a commonwealth nation, ravaged by the claws of colonialism. For her this was refuge, the opportunity to build what her conservative upbringing had denied her. Family, society, unconditional love. 

"I know this is happy crying darling, but we're going to be there so soon. I know you wouldn't forgive yourself if you were denied taking in the first sights of our new home because of these tears." She coos as she wipes the tears from the lieutenant's face. 

She begins to wipe her own face, so Christine embraces her from behind as they watch the encroaching structure. "You're right… but you should know at this point that my cancer ass cant handle this shit." Nyota's smile brightened, "think of all the kid's we'll save Chris. Kids like me who this world abandoned. Because they were too far up their own ass." 

"You gonna talk like that to the kids?" Carol asked teasingly. The high tech ship was pulling into dock and the solar sails were let down.

"Eh, fuck it, they'll get used to it." She laughs softly. 

Nyota feels the breath of her lovers chuckle in her ear.

"Y'know for someone who speaks, what? 11 million languages somehow most of your vocabulary is still English swear words." Admiral James Kirk interrupts their revery, Jovially walking up to them from below deck.

"Oh, it's swear words in every language, Captain." The lieutenant responds.

"Nyota we're docked, it's not Captain anymore. Today we're comrades." 

_____

_ Their first rescue mission was successful, and it gave them the confidence to finally abandon the ranks that had been drilled into them by the imperial navy. They covertly pulled up to the shores of Tanzania, where thousands of queer youth awaited them with tickets for their "re-educational cruise". It pained the crew to no end the dullness and despair on their faces. It was clear that some of them had been forced into conversion therapy before and it made Nyota's jaw clench in anger. But she was glad it was them and not the real deal; glad that they'd be going to a better, kinder homeland. Tears flowed heavily when they were far enough from their departure point, and Chekhov broke the news that they were in fact being set free to live as they wish. Unsurprisingly there was some resistance, but within the three days of living openly and with the promise of a sustainable life ahead, everyone had agreed to give the new way a chance _ .

_____

"Hell yeah!" Chris interjects, reaching out from behind Uhura. She and Jim grab each other at the elbow firmly and shake once before Nyota cups both of their arms between her hands and joins them in the gesture.

"I hope you enjoy this Jim, it's the closest we're ever getting to a threesom." The linguist jokes, causing them all to separate in laughter. 

"C'mon, you know once he's on dry land Spock's gonna get his binder out of a bunch. He doesn't need us."

Jim was aghast. "You're lucky I can't reprimand you anymore lieutenant… comrade."

Scotty's brogue disrupts over the ship's intercom, "Alright you land loving queers, you don't have to go home, but you sure as hell can't stay on my ship… unless you want to or whatever. We're picking up some comrades from Togo next so if you want to join us in welcoming them you can access the crew sign up sheet on the tablet in your quarters. Don’t forget to grab a coat, we’re parked just off of Antarctica right now so it’ll be a little chillier outside than Dar es Salaam. We set sail tomorrow at noon. So maybe live some life on our new homeland between then, homos. Luv ya. Engineer Scotty, out." 

"C'mon we should get our things and get the kids." Jim waved them over to follow him below deck.

The technology of the ship was astoundingly beyond it's time. It was solar fueled and had the capacity to produce zero waste. It was a design rejected by the imperial Government because of its capabilities to self sustain outside of fueling contractors. Chief science officer Spock, having had enough of his innovative designs being rejected out of hand due to their ambivalence towards revenue generation, went rogue… to say the least. It became clear to him that the imperial office of scientific innovation was nothing more than a grift, suffering under the delusion of bottomless profits. And so he disappeared.

_____

_ The powers that be had already flagged his overly persistent self as a trouble maker and so marked him as a mutineer. Missing in action of his own doing. He'd concede that it wasn't entirely inaccurate, but that didn't make the target on his back any less difficult to carry.  _

_ The crew he had formed a unique bond with however, were beside themselves. Captain James Kirk, who had long pined after him, resigned within a week of Spock's ousting. Citing emotional distress, but really seething with anger. Anger at the institution he had given his life to and stayed in the closet for, being revealed to be materially worthless. With this, he set sail independently. Covertly searching for the man he could have loved much sooner. All of the places they had discussed during their late nights in the rec-room sprawled a list in his captain's log, and so he set sail checking them all off.  _

_ His first obstacle came at his first destination. His boat had stalled out just as he was about to dock at Kobe, Japan. If anything were to remind him of how futile his insane mission was, it was being stranded with no Visa, no diplomatic excuses and no more rations in the middle of Japan's territory on his step-father's stolen mini-yacht. He began to vape in defeat. As his hope died, so would his lungs.  _

_ At that, his lowest moment his comm device beeped loudly from under his pile of depression laundry.  _

_ “Fuck, i thought i switched that thing off.” He began digging through his mess with the intent of switching off the easily trackable gadget, however he sees who the call is from and freezes on the off switch, picking up instead. “Sulu?”  _

_ “What are you doing in Japan, dumbass!?” _

_ “Nice to hear from you too? How were your holidays? I’m doing great thanks for asking… Wait how did you know I wa-” _

_ “We’ve been looking for you Jim… where the hell have you been? Give me your exact coordinates now so I can come get you.” _

_ “Who’s we?” _

_ “Try the entire gay ass crew of the Enterprise. Now you know I can't say anything else over the phone Tibarious. So tell me where you are so you can get got, before you  _ **_get got_ ** _.” _

_ Luckily Sulu was one of the quickest, stealthiest maritime pilots in Imperial Fleet history, and he just so happened to live in neighboring Osaka. They left both their comms devices on Jim’s ship and took Hikaru’s much more discreet sea-craft to the shore, where they traveled some distance to a safehouse. _

-

_ “Spock disappeared, then you disappeared and the crew assignment AI tried to randomize us a new captain and science officer… We, all of us even the yeomen had a meeting and nothing about it felt right... Spock went missing right after he showed us those plans for the seasted-” Sulu debriefed the captain over their hot beverages. _

_ “Yeah, they were brilliant.” he said, discomforted by the mystery. _

_ “He was gonna show Imperial Command and then, poof, he’s just gone?” _

_ “And all of a sudden he’s a fucking traitor!?” _

_ “Exactly!” Hikaru exclaimed as steadily as Jim had ever seen anyone do. _

_ There was a staggered rhythm of knocks at the door, which Sulu listened for intently, seemingly satisfied by the code. He get’s up and opens the door for Pavel Chekov, who embraces him with an intimacy that was new to Jim's eyes. The captain walks toward the two of them and gives Chekov a gentler hug. He missed the Ensign's off kilter charm. _

_ "Captain, what the hell have you been doing?" Pavel asked, beaming at his senior.  _

_ Jim chuckled back at him, "Wading through an irrational manic episode, apparently. Good thing this guy found me." He nonchalantly places his hand on Sulu's shoulder. _

_ "Well Jim, you can thank this one right here. He's the one that put a VPN on your comms device so no one but us could see where it really was. The imperial fleet lost a real prodigy." He says as he tussles the younger man's hair. _

_ "Wait, you quit too?" _

_ "We all did, captain… you didn't tell him about the union meeting?" Pavel turned quizzically toward Hikaru, then quickly turns back to Jim. “Captain, we started a union!” _

_ Sulu smiled at his friend and put his arm around his shoulders, guiding him inward. "I was just getting to it, Pav." They go back to sitting at the couch and Jim picks up his journal from the coffee table so he has something to fiddle with and calm his nerves. “When you resigned we didn’t have a captain. We didn’t have a direction. And then we were threatened with someone new we had to figure out what to do, because surrendering our collective will to someone who we didn’t know... I mean it’s literally what we signed up for, but it still wasn’t... right. So at our meeting we took a vote. Stay and carry out Imperial resource cultivation missions until we can retire, or go and find the rest of our family.” _

_ “And you all voted to find little old me?” Jim asked humorously, deflecting from the growing warmth in his chest. _

_ “And little old Commander Spock.” Chekov chimed in fondly. _

_ A strained silence came over the room. Jim squeezed his journal tighter in his hands remembering the man he abandones everything for without a moment’s notice. “I take it you’ve had the same luck finding him as I have?” he asked lowly. _

_ “Ay, captain. He-” _

_ “You can call me Jim, Pavel.” _

_ “Yes, capt- I mean Jim… He doesn’t have his comms device, we traced it to Imperial headquarters. The crew covertly searched top to bottom and didn’t find him, but found the device with a big pile of... other used devices and decommissioned phasers. We even checked in with his parents in Israel, nothing.” _

_ “I can’t think of any other ways to track him.” Pavel said, looking down, feeling inadequate.  _

_ Sulu grabs his hand reassuringly. “Jim, why’d you come here to look for him?” _

_ “It was- I had a list. I wrote in my log whenever Spock would tell me he wanted to escape. He’d always tell me in the rec room how trapped he felt. I didn’t understand what he meant until all of my own illusions were shattered. Kobe, was on his list.”  _

_ “Where else was on his list?” Chekov leans in, inquisitively. _

_ Jim opens the well worn pages of the journal clutched in his hands. _

_____

Chris carries her and Nyota’s bags down the path from the ship to the seastead. The Swahili femme is reminded of how lucky she is to have such a loving butch. She gives her love a swift peck on the lips. 

Once they reach the mainland, they execute their plan to part ways. Chapel (along with an automated porter with all the luggage) was headed for one of the public transport trolleys going to the main blocks of residential quarters; while Uhura’s trolley headed toward the public, communal spaces. 

“If anyone wants to immediately crash after a long sea journey, which is completely understandable, then the lovely Dr. Chapel will be your guide. If you would like to see some of the sites of this place, then I'm your gal!” She translated this into Swahili and a couple of other Bantu languages so no one felt too lost. “Any questions?”

One young girl with box braids and round features raised her hand, a bit nervously. Uhura called on her with a gentle smile. “H- how did you do all this?” she asked hesitantly, gesturing to the fantastical surroundings. 

Uhura looked at her with fondness for both her skepticism and curiosity. “That’s a good question… sorry, what would you like me to call you?”

“I’m Tish.”

“Thank you for this question, Tish. We here, we’re all a little like you. Everything we valued at one point threw us away. But we know within ourselves that we’re not trash, yet what the world assigns trash to is an untapped trove of treasure. We spent months trolling the seas for plastics and other recyclables. Waste in this world is easy to find. What you walk on now is all the bottles of Coke that the company failed to recycle, hence the red and white marbling. We 3D printed almost everything you see in front of you thanks to our brilliant science comrades. The technology is also modified waste but this time without the planned obsolescence.” She tapped the auto-trolley closest to her, “And the gardens and fresh produce island floating in the center there, well, you can thank Mr. Sulu for that one.” She chuckles, pointing to the hexagonal greenhouse module at the center of the 6 residential and communal ones. All but the one in the center were partially roofed by shade giving solar panels.”Did that help?” 

“Yes... it did.” Tish replied, looking to her feet as though they answered her question.

“You still seem unsatisfied, friend… Is there a problem?” Nyota questioned with genuine concern.

“Why did you do it?” She asked again, avoiding the concern entirely, and making full eye contact.

Uhura stood firm, knowing that every new resident stood in front of her needing the affirmation. “Because we believe that obedience has had it’s boot on the neck of life and love for too long. And we needed to see them breathe. At least for just a moment.”


End file.
